Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has downgraded Qatar Petroleum’s (QP) rating to “AA-“ from “AA”, placing it on CreditWatch with “negative” implications.

This occurred after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, and the UAE broke their diplomatic, trade, and transport ties with Qatar.

“[QP] contributes significantly to the state budget via oil and gas revenues and returns on investment, which together comprise approximately 75% of central government revenues according to preliminary 2016 data,” S&P said in a statement.

The company has the monopoly on Qatar's oil and gas resources, the agency stated, as the GCC state has the third-largest proven gas reserves in the world, according to the BP statistical review of world energy in 2016.

Furthermore, the Qatari petroleum firm is the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producing company globally at very low costs, supported by a very long reserve life and long-term LNG contracts, as well as direct and LNG-linked exposure to oil pricing.

S&P may downgrade QP’s ratings if the company's role was no longer critical to the state's development plans.